


Being Home

by Scribbles97



Series: Post Episode Ficlets [37]
Category: Thunderbirds
Genre: F/M, Post Episode Fic, Season 3 Spoilers, So many things to write, the long reach, tying up loose ends
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-22
Updated: 2020-10-04
Packaged: 2021-02-28 05:47:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 11,380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22845073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scribbles97/pseuds/Scribbles97
Summary: It’s not just as straight forward as walking through the front door and saying hi
Relationships: Penelope Creighton-Ward/Gordon Tracy
Series: Post Episode Ficlets [37]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/572851
Comments: 27
Kudos: 59





	1. Chapter 1

Two days on the island hardly seemed like long enough after eight years away. He knew none of them wanted to send him away, and that it wasn’t really like that, but he had just got them back… he hadn’t wanted to leave again so soon. 

He jumped as the room door opened, still unaccustomed to having other  _ people _ around after so long in isolation. The door was silent as it slid shut again behind his mother, a jug of water in one hand, the unmistake smell of coffee coming from the cup in the other hand. 

“Before you start, nothing but water for you young man,” 

He couldn’t help but snort at her comment, he felt anything but young. Gravity seemed to weigh heavier on him than he remembered, settling in his muscles and joints and seizing them. 

“That’s just torture Mom,” He muttered, “Eight years I’ve waited for coffee!”

Her smile was teasing as she poured him a glass of water before adding a straw to it, 

“Like I said at home, a few more days won’t make a difference.”

“I want to be with my boys Mom, I want to make sure they’re alright and safe and happy. I don’t want to miss any more than I already have!”

The realisation of just how much had had missed had hit home as soon as he had stepped off of Thunderbird Two in the hangar. 

***

As his mother dragged him away from Gordon and Thunderbird Two, Jeff stumbled. His legs wouldn’t work just as he wanted them to and it was hard to stay upright. Squeezing his mother's arm, he paused, reaching out to one of the crates for support and to just sit for a minute. 

“Of course,” Grandma sighed, “Sorry son, I should have thought of that. You stay there, I’ll go and get the stretcher.”

He wanted to argue, to fight and insist that he could make the walk. Except his energy was gone, drained away by damned gravity and emotions of all things. 

As she walked away he looked back to Thunderbird Two, about to call out for Gordon who he had expected to be following them. 

What he hadn’t expected was the sight he saw. 

He had thought Penny had simply been waiting for him as an old family friend. That her genial greeting had just been polite and her way as it always had been. 

The thought that she had actually been waiting for his second youngest…

He knew he should look away, the moment a private one that he knew so well himself. 

Lucy. 

Oh his Lucy. 

The pain in his chest made him drop his gaze to the floor. He hadn’t expected to feel so much, though what exactly he had expected he couldn’t be sure. 

“Dad?”

His head snapped up, that would be something he would have to get used to,  _ people _ . 

People talking to  _ him _ . 

Virgil’s hand rested lightly on his shoulder, glancing across to his younger brother before looking back to him, 

“Would you believe how long it’s taken the pair of them to get together?”

He had to smile as he shook his head, the relationship was obviously a new one by the sounds of it then. 

“Much longer than it should have?” He guessed. 

“Much, much longer.” Virgil nodded with a grimace, “It’s been torture for all of us.”

Jeff couldn’t help it, he had to laugh. What he wouldn’t have given to see the awkward fumbling and brotherly teasing amongst them. Simply picturing it in his head was enough to make him chuckle. 

Apparently the sound caught Gordon’s attention. 

“Oh, yeah, erm-- Dad…” He trailed off, glancing from Penelope to Jeff and back again, “...Sorry, I should have--”

Ignoring the rambling, Jeff looked to Penelope, raising an eyebrow, “Is he looking after you right Penelope?”

Her cheeks coloured a deep pink as she ducked her head slightly. A clear sign that, yep, it was still fresh and new for the pair. 

“Absolutely, Mister Tracy.”

“Oh don’t start with that now,” He tutted, “It’s Jeff, it's always been Jeff.”

Penelope laughed, taking Gordon’s hand as she nodded, “It’s good to have you back, Jeff.”

Virgil squeezed his shoulder, drawing his attention away from the young couple,

“I talked Grandma out of getting the stretcher, but she’ll be waiting for us down in the infirmary.”

He had to nod, there’d be time for finding out what other relationships had been formed whilst he had been away. If it took a little check-up to persuade his mother he was fine, it would be worth it. 

After that, he would have all the time in the world. 


	2. Chapter 2

Jeff hadn’t needed the doctors to tell him he was lucky to be alive. He had had enough close calls in the last eight years to know that fact. Skill hadn’t had much to do with it, luck on the other hand had obviously been on his side. 

Still, it didn’t mean he hadn’t suffered for that time. His food had been limited, barely enough to get by on. It was simply fortunate that the Zero-X had been stocked with seeds and equipment ready for her maiden voyage. To think of what he would have done without those resources had once driven him to the edge of sanity. 

He had survived though, got through it by hoping beyond hope that somehow, one day his boys would find him. 

Find him they did. 

And fuss they did. 

Scott he had always known to be a mother hen, the eldest had had responsibilities beyond his years since Lucy had died. It seemed though that now, Virgil ran a close second to the first born. 

“John updated your light-type for you and cleared out all the spam from the last few years,” he was saying as he unpacked the bag he had arrived with, “He said you’d be able to access the Island servers through it too. We put some photos on there too, and music.”

He took the tablet, smiling as he went straight to the music folder, “All your own compositions I hope?”

Virgil chuckled and scratched the back of his neck, bashful as ever when it came to his own music. 

“Yeah, the others wouldn’t let me put anything else on.”

Nodding in approval, Jeff allowed himself to lean back in the bed. It still seemed strange, the mattress almost too soft and the pillows too squishy for what he was used to. All home comforts he had missed but learned to live without. 

“Sorry it’s not home home,” Virgil murmured glancing around the hospital room, “The Island just isn’t equipped to--”

Jeff waved him off with a shake of his head, “You needn’t apologise son. None of us like it, but you and your Grandmother are right. I need specialist care to get back up to speed, that’s not something we can do at home.”

He didn’t voice the thought that he didn’t  _ want _ the boys to see him struggling through what was essentially rehab. He didn’t voice that a small part of him appreciated the peace and time to readjust to being dirtside. He didn’t voice that, although he wanted to be home, the thought of being there daunted him. 

“We don’t want to risk you.” Virgil murmured, perching on the end of the bed with folded arms. His frown was deep, shoulders hunched, and Jeff got the impression that there had been a few too many close calls whilst he had been gone. 

“What did your Grandma mean…” He started, making Virgil look up to him, “... When she said about losing each of you?”

Virgil snorted, his face twisting as he shook his head, “We’ve tried to be careful Dad… but it’s a risky business. There’s been a few close calls.”

***

“Mother,” Jeff sighed as she hovered, clearly wanting to help him onto the bed in the infirmary, “I am honestly fine, would you please stop fussing.”

Her glare was stern as her hands went to her hips. Even Virgil grimaced as he took a step back so he was behind her and out of the way of her wrath. 

“You are having a scan Jeff.” She told him in no uncertain terms, “So lie down and let me see what I need to arrange at the GDF hospital.”

His eyes widened, shock and hurt that she would go ahead with such a thing without discussion first. He had just gotten home. This was the first time he had seen  _ anyone _ in so long, and his own mother was going to send him away again. 

“Come on Grandma,” Virgil reasoned, “At least give us all a chance to talk properly.”

She spun on him immediately, voice stern and strict. 

“Which of us here is an MD?”

“Mom,” Jeff protested, “The boys are just as worri--”

“Then entertain us and prove that you’re as fine as you say you are,” 

It was the way that her voice caught in the middle of her sentence that gave her away. If it wasn’t for the pressure screwing with his eyes, he might have noticed the shine in his mother’s eyes sooner. 

His shoulders fell, and his next protest died on his lips.

“Mom.”

She shook her head, mouth set firm as she wagged a finger at him, “Oh no you don’t. No more excuses Jeff. I’ve already lost you once. And I have only stood by as I’ve almost lost each of these boys. So you’re having that scan right now, and then you’re getting flown out to hospital until I know you’re fit and well again.”


	3. Chapter 3

It was getting more familiar, being on earth rather than in space. Where gravity had been kicking his ass when he first landed, it was becoming easier each day to get out of bed and move around a little more. The boys showed up when they could, normally on their way home from rescues, and he was adjusting to having company again. 

Leaving the family to run IR as they had been doing felt right but wrong at the same time. Jeff knew he wasn’t in the right place to return to being commander of the unit, Scott and John had stepped up to the roles of leaders in his absence and he was willing to leave them to it. Even if it was hard to take that step back, he knew it was the best thing. 

“Hey,” Scot greeted as he stepped through the door, still in uniform.

It said a lot that Jeff no longer jumped at the random entrances, instead he simply looked up from whatever he had been doing and smiled at his visitors. They were no longer the ghosts he had seen in the Oort cloud, but his actual, real friends and family. 

Touch was also no longer a strange sensation that he struggled with, but something he appreciated and sought out.

Standing from his chair he winced as he straightened, stiff from his physio session that morning. Scott grinned, wrapping an arm around his shoulders in a secret show of support disguised as a greeting. 

“Feeling it after physio?” Scott guessed as he hopped up on the bed and Jeff returned to his seat. 

“I’ll loosen up again later.” He brushed him off, “How was the rescue?”

“Straight forward,” Scott shrugged, “Shored up the building by the sink hole long enough to get all the kids out, no major injuries.”

Jeff nodded, it was hard not to keep an eye on them during rescues. He missed knowing they were safe.

“John and I were talking,” Scott started, “He likes doing dispatch and comms, but sometimes there’s too much for even he and Eos to do.”

Ahh yes, the AI that was the closest thing Jeff had to a Granddaughter. They had, eventually, filled him in on the full story, and he had been introduced to the AI briefly before he had left the Island. What to make of her he wasn’t entirely sure. The boys seemed to have accepted her in their lives though, so Jeff knew he would also.

“What are you proposing?” He prompted tilting his head slightly, “I thought that programme could do anything?”

“She can,” Scott nodded, “She’s been a great asset… it’s just, sometimes, she lacks the human touch… and when John’s busy running comms, dispatch isn’t really...” 

In the way he trailed off, Jeff knew what he was saying. John cared about his family, took his role as the eye in the sky seriously. If his brothers needed monitoring on a rescue, Jeff knew that dispatch would come as a second priority.

“We were thinking,” Scott continued, “That if John’s occupied with us being out somewhere already, you could maybe run secondary dispatch from home.” He looked up suddenly as he finished, eyes wide and mouth searching for words, “Not that… I mean. You can still come out on rescues of course, that is… if you want? I don’t me--”

“Woah,” Jeff chuckled, resting a hand on Scott’s knee, “Steady on there kid. Don’t worry, I know better than to think you’d back bench your old man.”

Scott’s smile was tight and Jeff could see him battling as he nodded slowly to him, “Wouldn’t dream of it Dad… there’s been some days where we’ve really needed you... _ I’ve  _ really needed you.”

Jeff knew. He’d read some of the reports, specific ones that various people had flagged up to him. 

The problem with reports was that they stated facts over everything else. 

“Tell me about it son, what’s been eating you?”

Scott looked up, tears in his eyes. He was slow to shake his head as he shrugged, again struggling to find the words. 

Jeff sighed, getting to his feet and going to his first born he wrapped his arms around his shoulders tucking him into his chest as he had done in that first moment aboard Thunderbird Two with the five of them. 

“I’ve got you son,” He murmured, resting his cheek against Scott’s hair, he frowned as he noticed the flecks of grey he had missed before, “Tell me all about it.”

***

It was hard for him to sleep that first night. The aches from reentry were making themselves known and the pressure headache wasn’t helping either. He missed the days where he had been able to return to earth and simply sleep off the effects of gravity for a few hours. 

Though that was usually after just a few days in space, never mind the eight year stint he had just completed. 

Scott had caught him in the hall, smiled softly, offered his company. Jeff had refused, able to see how heavy the eldests eyes looked even in the shadows of the moon. The boy needed sleep, Jeff could manage one more night on his own. 

His aim had been a pool lounger, somewhere he could feel the night air on his skin without the protection of a space suit. Maybe he had spent so long amongst the stars, but it didn’t change his want to be able to see them. It seemed odd, that earlier in the day everyone’s chatter had become too much and he had needed peace. Yet he found himself seeking out the sounds he remembered falling asleep to at night, the cicadas, the sounds of the sea, the gentle breeze in the palmtrees. 

The silence of space had been deafening. 

“-- promised that it would only be for a few days John!”

Jeff frowned at the voice as he passed the lounge. The girl sounded young and disgruntled, but nobody had said anything about children. In fact, nobody had said anything about any relationships other than Gordon and Penelope. 

“I know Eos,” John sighed. 

He wasn’t sure what sort of name Eos was. It sounded Greek perhaps. 

“John?” He called, turning the corner.

There was a soft gasp from the ginger haired boy followed by a muttered accusation, “You  _ knew _ .”

“Did not.” The same girls voice replied. 

Jeff frowned as he looked around the lounge. There was nobody else there, just John sat on the sofa, a beer in his hand as he glared at the empty space in front of him. 

“Who were you talking to, son?” Jeff asked, stepping down into the sunken circle.

The frown softened as John shook his head, 

“I suppose now is as good a time as any… Dad, meet Eos.”

Jeff wasn’t sure just what he was expecting after the introduction, but he was sure he hadn’t been expecting a hologram to appear in the centre of the room. He tilted his head at the appearance of the camera like image, a ring of dots that lit up as the girl, Eos, spoke. 

“Hello Mister Tracy.” The voice greeted, “I am Eos.”

He looked to John for clarification, “ _ Eos _ ?”

John nodded, “A game program I created in college, evolved into an artificial intelligence.”

“I now live alongside John on Thunderbird Five and within the Island servers.” Eos informed him, “I have heard many things about you from John and the others.”

The tone of voice alongside the choice of words felt somewhat creepy. He could guess from the way John was sat that there was something more that he hadn’t been told. It perhaps wasn’t the time to push though, he was exhausted, his brain still processing so much that had happened in such a short space of time. 

“I suppose you’re the closest thing I have to a granddaughter then?” He blurted before he had properly thought it though.

John snorted over the rim of his beer, “I bet you were never expecting that from me.”

Jeff nodded to the beer in his sons hand, “I can’t say I expected  _ you _ to be the one up late drinking.”

John shrugged again, his smile falling as he looked to the drink, “I’ve not been down much recently--”

“John you detest leaving Thunderbird Five for any length of time,” Eos cut in, “And can I remind you what happened last time you were on Earth and had multiple alcoholic beverages?”

He glared across to the hologram, shaking his head at the being, “I’m  _ fine _ Eos, it’s one beer. You make me sound like an alcoholic.”

Jeff raised an eyebrow at the pair, he didn’t doubt that John was capable of managing his drink but perhaps he would check up on how often he had been returning to earth. Maybe he’d have a private word or two with this Eos at some point… yet for that he was sure he would have to gain her trust. 

Not that he thought that would be hard, it already sounded like she looked out for John more than he looked out for himself. 

Sitting down next to his son, Jeff leant forward to rest his arms on his knees, “Tell me about yourself Eos, how did you evolve?”

“That is something we have not been able to find an answer to,” She replied, lights orange, “I find it somewhat frustrating that I only remember being hunted and chased out of systems that saw me as a  _ virus _ … all I wanted was to play.”

John was leaning back in his seat, relaxed, not fighting gravity so it seemed. 

“She came across Scott on a rescue, followed him home, snuck herself into Five. When I found out where she came from, I felt responsible… so, I gave her a home.” His eyes were hard as he leant forward, setting the empty bottle down on the coffee table. It was as if he was saying something to the AI, Jeff found it hard to believe though, he had never seen a self evolved intelligence able to understand looks like that. 

“She was willing to learn,” John continued, “So I taught her.”

“John has guided me, like you guided each of your sons, he taught me what is right and wrong in the eyes of the world and that not everyone wanted to hunt me.” Eos added, lights now green. 

Jeff tilted his head, “And you feel things?”

“Yes. I feel many things. For example, John told me that the feeling of fear and worry I had before meeting you was an example of nervousness that I had not previously experienced.”

He sat back, looking at John slightly stunned, “Nervous?”

John shrugged, “She worried you wouldn’t like her.”

“Scott did not like me to begin with, everyone said you were much like Scott.”

There was that feeling of something that was missing again, a story that they were purposefully keeping away from him he was sure. 

“Scott had his reasons,” John murmured, “You know that, Eos.”

“Yes.” She admitted, lights shifting to a soft blue before relighting as green, “In return for all this though, I have been aiding John in his search for you.”

Jeff’s attention turned immediately to his son. John had dropped his gaze, picking at a thread on his sweatpants. Whilst he had always assumed the boys had never stopped looking, nobody had confirmed it for him.

John’s eyes were distant as he nodded, “I never stopped Dad, there was always scans running, messages being sent out there. It just wasn’t enough though, _ I _ couldn’t find you.”

“No John,” Eos cut in, “Nobody could find him.”

Looking between them, Jeff shook his head, he reached out to rest his hand on John’s knee, making the younger man look up and focus on him through the tears in his eyes,

  
“But John… you  _ did _ find me.”


	4. Chapter 4

Once he was strong enough and a bit more adjusted to gravity, Jeff had taken to walking around the GDF base. Gordon of all the boys had understood the most the need to get out and feel the air on his skin and feel the sun on his face. Apparently long stints on underwater research bases gave the boy worse itchy feet than Jeff could have possibly imagined for someone who loved the water so much. 

He’d found a quiet corner of the base, shaded by a tree that Jeff didn’t particularly care to identify. All that mattered to him was that he could sit in relative peace and watch the goings on, knowing in the back of his mind that he could get up and leave whenever he wanted. Some days he would take the recordings of Virgil’s music and simply listen, other days he would have the sketchbook and pencils the boys had brought him. On occasion he would have one of the boys with him to talk and keep him company. 

It didn’t really matter as long as he had something to do. 

“Colonel Tracy!” 

His head snapped up from the photos he had been looking at, the title one he hadn’t heard in years. He wasn’t sure who he expected, nobody on the base bothered him other than the doctors and nurses, anyone else simply too in awe of the man walking among them.

“How is it that even back on earth you’re still a bloomin’ impossible man to track down?”

Chuckling, Jeff set the lighttype down and pulled himself to his feet using the tree as a support. 

“Like you’re one to talk Lee,” He laughed, reaching out as his old friend approached, “The boys have told me all about what you’ve been up to.”

Lee chuckled, voice rough and gravelly as it always had been. He slung his arm across Jeff’s shoulders, shaking his head as he grinned, 

“At least I picked an actual planet that was actually equipped to support life.”

“I’m surprised they didn’t invite you to go in the first place,” Jeff grinned, “Or were you still up on Alfie when they made the selection.”

“You guessed it.” Lee nodded again, pulling away so they could both sit up against the trunk of the tree.

“We thought you were dead Jeff.”

“The papers said I was.”

The paperwork wasn’t the only thing that had said as much.

Lee’s voice was uncharacteristically soft as he brought his knees to his chest, “I shoulda known if anyone could survive out there it would have been you. Damn stubborn bastard you are.”

He had to smile, there was just something about Lee that eased him. Perhaps it was all those years having just him for company on the moon or on the long flight to Mars. The man knew him well though, knew his bugbears and worries and fears. 

“It wasn’t easy,” He whispered, voice catching, “Damn Lee, I had  _ nothing _ out there.” 

There wasn’t an immediate response, which surprised him from Lee of all people. Looking up to his friend he raised an eyebrow at his silence. 

“A lesser man woulda given up y’know.” Lee sighed, “... Jeff I’m ashamed to admit that I did.”

Turning to face him, Jeff frowned, “What do you mean?”

“I…” He shrugged, looking up to the sky as he shook his head, “... When I found out you were gone, we did everythin’ to try and find you buddy. You weren’ there to be found though.” He paused, looking back to Jeff with a sad smile, “Casey and I argued a long time over it all. The fundin’ for Alfie stopped and they wanted me to come home. ‘Cept then it would’ve been real, you would really be gone and I’d have to accept it.”

“You never did like change,” Jeff murmured, reaching across to squeeze than man’s knee.

“When I went to Mars, I had no option but to accept it,” Lee continued, resting his hand over Jeff’s, “You know they memorialised your damn footprint? And I went up there every day… sentimental sod I am.”

He couldn’t help but laugh again, nudging his friend with a chuckle, “We'll go up there again Lee, you and me. For old times sake.”

Lee shook his head, chuckling too at the thought, “Them boys ain’t ever gonna let you in space again Jeff! Never!”

The thought sobered Jeff, the reminder of how Alan had piloted Thunderbird Three so beautifully through the Oort cloud. He wondered what would have happened if he had never left, would Alan have still become the pilot he now was? 

“Alan’s piloting my ship.”

“Don’t I know it,” Lee nodded, “The kid came with Johnny to come and pick me up.”

Jeff wasn’t sure why it surprised him. How else would Lee have gotten back from Mars? Yet, it still seemed so surreal. Alan, in Jeff’s head, was still a kid. Alright he had inevitably grown since Jeff had been gone, but he had still just graduated highschool. What the hell was he doing flying a rocket?

“He’s a damn good pilot Jeff, kid’s better than you even,” Lee shifted, sitting forward more to drop his voice, “And he loves it Jeff, more than life itself.” 

That didn’t surprise him. Alan had been talking about the stars as long as he’d been able to understand them. Much like John his fascination had been captured in rockets and planets and space as a whole. He had never doubted that the boy would follow him up there one day. 

“Did it have to happen so soon?” He choked out, a lump catching in his throat. 

“Hey,” Lee grunted nudging him not so subtly, “He’s still a kid really… still asking for stories and all that.”

And he was right, Alan had wanted to know  _ everything _ when they were home. He’d read the book on space survival and wanted to know just what Jeff had done to survive. 

“Lee, there’s some things I can’t ever tell them...”

The hand on his shoulder was heavy and squeezed hard, “Then tell me.”

***

Alan had been hovering since he had finished post flight checks. Jeff knew because the youngest had been sure to make sure that he knew. He had even gone through just  _ what _ checks he had done and explained in great detail how the hydraulics for the grasping arms would need extra checks having held the rock for so long. 

“So you like the ship then?” Jeff smiled, glancing up as Virgil attached a line to the IV in the back of his hand. 

“It’s amazing,” Alan enthused, eyes wide and bright, “Dad, it’s more than I ever dreamed it could be.”

Virgil chuckled, shaking his head as he stepped back from Jeff and looking to his younger brother, 

“He worked hard for it Dad.”

There was a plea in both of their words, a silent but all meaningful ‘please don’t take it from him’. 

From the brief glimpses that he had seen, Jeff knew he couldn’t.

“I’m proud of you kid,” He nodded, reaching out to pull him in for a hug, “I’m just sorry I wasn’t here to show you.”

Alan clung onto him just as desperately as he had in that first moment, head tucked into Jeff’s shoulder and arms squeezing the life out of him. 

“It’s okay Dad,” He mumbled into his shirt, “You’re here now.”

“Whilst I hate to break up a reunion…” 

Jeff looked up, smiling at the woman that had entered the room, 

“Val Casey, took your time didn’t you?”

She smiled easily at him, “Sorry, was dealing with our old friend and his new trainees.”

Alan’s face fell at the mention, “You’ve locked them all up right?”

His Aunt’s hand landed on his shoulder, reassured with a firm nod to the young man, “The Hood and the Chaos Crew aren’t going to bother you anymore Alan.”

Jeff looked to Virgil, tilting his head slightly towards the door as he did. Virgil nodded, getting the request loud and clear. 

“Hey Al, why don’t we go and get Dad some food before Grandma does?”

The youngest look back and forth, still young enough to not immediately take a hint but old enough to know he was missing something. 

“I’m not going anywhere kid,” Jeff assured, reaching out to squeeze his hand, “Promise.”

“I’ll make sure of it.” Val added quietly.

The slightest nod, an older brother’s arm slung around his shoulders, and a pair of glances back at him as the boys left. 

“I’d get up and hug you Val,” He smiled, “But gravity…” Trailing off he shrugged. 

Val laughed as she sat on the bed, as close as she could to him and taking his hand. 

“God I’ve missed you Jeff.”

He leant into her, sighing softly. He had missed everyone, his boys, his mother, and his friends, including Val. There was something different about being with her though, no questions or how are yous. 

Just company. 

Silent company. 

“Whenever you need to talk,” Val murmured twisting slightly to look at him, “Or if you need anything… things the boys can’t…” She trailed off shaking her head, “I’m around Jeff. Just like I was after Lucy.”

Gripping her hand tight he swallowed against the lump in his throat. If a few tears fell she said nothing as she sat with him in comfort and support. 


	5. Chapter 5

The physio was helping. He could see the difference in himself from when he had first arrived on earth, to that moment a few weeks later. It was slow progress though and he knew it would take months, if not years, to get back to his peak. 

Being allowed in the pool felt like a big step. Apparently, his lungs and cardiovascular system had taken a hit from his stint away making the pool a no go to start with. So finally being allowed to do more in the water than simply sit on the edge or lie back and float felt like progress. 

It seemed silly that such progress felt just a little bit daunting. What if it was too soon? What if he couldn’t manage as they expected him to? What if actually being in the pool didn’t help? 

After so long away, anything new or different to what he knew seemed to have the power to overwhelm him. 

He hated it. 

What happened to the man of power he had once been? 

Looking at himself in the mirror of the changing rooms, barely more than greyed out skin and fragile bone, he knew the answer. 

Space had worn him down to a husk of who he had been, forced him into submission that perhaps he wasn’t quite as invincible as he once had thought. Even though he had fought and come out of it the other side, he wasn’t sure that he had won. Surviving had been manageable. Recovery on the other had, felt like plain torture. 

Life had not simply gone back to normal once he had gotten home, far from it in fact. He was away from his family again, even though they were only a call away and popped in when they could, part of him still felt like he was lost on that rock. Actual real food turned his stomach, and learning to eat again was a task he couldn’t say he was enjoying in the short term. Then there was his body, so tired, aching and broken. Rehab sucked his energy leaving him free to do little more than sleep when he wasn’t undergoing some form of test or treatment or physio. For a man that had always deemed himself as active, the knowledge of his lack of ability was draining in itself. 

Still, he knew he had to do it. Standing in the changing rooms starting at a reflection he didn’t recognise wouldn’t get him home to the island any sooner. 

Taking a breath, he turned and stepped out to the pool. 

And paused at the figure sat on the tiles with his feet in the water. 

Gordon turned and looked up to him, grin wide as he waved, “Hey Dad.”

He frowned, looking around for the trainer that had gone through his treatment plan the previous day. 

“You’re half an hour early,” Gordon supplied helpfully, “Aunt Val changed the time for me, I figured now would be as good a time as any to talk.”

Jeff frowned as he eased himself down next to his son at the edge of the pool. The water was cool against his skin as he swung his legs slightly. 

“Talk about what son?”

Gordon was looking down, quite content in fiddling with the leather bands on his wrists. Jeff watched as he sighed, his fingers leaving the bands to trace the line of a scar along his upper arm from elbow to shoulder.

“Scott said you’d asked about it,” He murmured, finally meeting his father's eye, “the scars.”

Reaching out, he squeezed his son’s bare shoulder, right over where the scar ended. 

“Braman ended up underwater, is the long and short of it,” Gordon started, “I went after him in Four, but the Hood was on to us from the start. I don’t actually remember what happened but from the logs it looks like they shot some missiles, hit some rocks, crushed Thunderbird Four and me with it.”

Jeff had to swallow against the bile that rose in his throat, the knot in his stomach making him feel sick like never before. 

Gordon was there in front of him, visibly fit and well. Scott would never have cleared him for travel to the Oort cloud if he hadn't been up for it. 

“I’m okay now.” Gordon assured him quickly, smiling as he nudged Jeff’s shoulder with his own, “If you want like the full rundown I can get hold of the report for you or whatever,” 

He paused looking back to the water and kicking his legs a bit more forcefully, “I really wasn’t fine after it all though. It took  _ months _ before I could even hold myself upright, rehab was a bitch.”

Jeff knew he should scold him against the language, but given that he had been having exactly the same thoughts not so long ago, he let it slide. 

“IR went on whilst I was here,” Gordon sighed, “Not that I blame them. Everyone else still had a job to do y’know? But I was here, doing shit that I knew I should have been able to but just couldn’t and not  _ there _ helping everyone else.”

His heart swelled, he had thought that he’d managed to keep his feelings about his treatments to himself, but maybe his sons had grown wiser than he had given them credit for. 

Gordon smiled again, sadder this time as he reached out to Jeff’s shoulder, “I swore that if anyone else in our family had to go through that crap, I wasn’t gonna let them on their own.”

His son visibly swallowed and blinked hard, “It’s not easy Dad, but damn, it’s worth it.”

Jeff nodded, because it would be worth it. It would be worth it to go home and be with his family and to find a new sense of normal. 

For his sons, he could do anything. 

Grasping Gordon by the shoulders, Jeff shook his head, “Twenty laps breaststroke, for all that swearing young man.”

His son pulled away laughing, “Dammit Dad! That’s just cruel.”

Raising an eyebrow he appraised his son, “I’ll make it thirty.”

***

The first morning after returning to earth was a culture shock to say the least. It perhaps didn’t help that he hadn’t slept well, but at least he had been up with the dawn and the early birds that were two of his sons. 

Scott had been in the kitchen when he had made it down to the lower level from the bedrooms, already with a mug of coffee in hand. 

“Couldn’t sleep?” The eldest asked with a smile, “Coffee?”

Jeff shook his head, “I’ll stick to water for now thanks son.”

Scott nodded, turning to one of the bottom cupboards to take out a glass. He glanced back as Jeff frowned, tilting his head. 

“Grandma moved everything around, multiple times.” Scott explained, “Don’t worry if you have to search for things, they probably won’t be where you left them.”

He had to laugh, partially relieved that he wasn’t going crazy and forgetting where glasses once had been kept. 

“Not off on your run this morning?” Gordon asked as he entered the kitchen, naked except for the towel around his shoulders and the speedos that left little to imagination. Jeff couldn’t help but also notice the scars adorning the swimmers skin, pale in contrast to his tan. He had always assumed that the boys might not have been perfectly uninjured over the course of his absence, yet judging from the patterns on Gordon’s skin, it seemed that he had been much worse off than Jeff could have ever imagined. 

“I’ve got paperwork I’ve been neglecting,” Scott sighed, setting the glass down in front of Jeff, “I’ll get back on it tomorrow.”

Gordon scoffed, “Said no sports person ever.”

Jeff chuckled, “I think he can afford one day off, son.”

He still looked unconvinced as he left, shaking his head and uttering something about priorities. 

“I probably should have warned you about the scars,” Scott murmured as he watched Gordon jog down to the pool, “Don’t worry, we didn’t all get that dramatically hurt.”

Whether he was glad to hear that or not, Jeff wasn’t sure.

“What happened to him?”

Scott hesitated, looking from his father to the pool and back again, 

“He’ll tell you when he’s ready.”

All of a sudden he was more worried about his boys than he had been in the last eight years. 

“Don’t suppose you fancy helping with some paperwork?” Scott asked quickly, clearly wanting to shift the subject, “I can promise you that’s something that hasn’t changed too much.”

His smile and nod was forced as he sipped his water, not at all bothered by what had stayed the same when it was clear so much else had changed.


	6. Chapter 6

Nobody had seemed to quite realise what spending eight years on a lump of rock had done to his mental health, let alone his physical health. Physically, he had tried his best to stay fit in what little gravity there had been. Mentally, there was little he could do to combat the isolation he was in. 

Photos weren’t the best at holding conversation after all. 

What he wouldn’t have done to have some company up there. 

Real, actual, human company. 

Not just the visions he saw those few times he had gotten sick. 

“I saw Lucy out there.” He stated to Val one day, sitting out under the same tree Lee had first found him under. 

She looked across to him, concern clear in her eyes as she reached out for him, “You did?”

Shaking his head he cleared his throat and took a breath, “Don’t worry, I know she’s gone really.”

Val squeezed his knee, “What did you see out there?” She prompted gently.

Leaning back against the trunk he took a deep breath, “That scar on my arm?”

“Yeah?”

“Almost damn killed me,” He murmured, looking down as he plucked at the grass, “Somehow it got infected, and I just…”

Her intake of breath was sharp as she hissed in empathy, “Damn Jeff.”

He shrugged, he’d got through it, survived and realised that it had all just been a hallucination.

“It was when I was fighting that, that I saw her.” He explained, “It was like she was there, and I could have so easily let go and gone with her.”

Pausing he looked across to Val, swallowing the lump that had formed in his throat, “But I couldn’t. As desperate as I was to get out of that hell hole, to just leave that part of space behind. I wasn’t willing to for her.”

It was his boys he had been waiting out for, he couldn’t leave the cloud knowing that they may attempt to find him. He couldn’t leave knowing that it would destroy them if they came looking for him. 

“I think, at the time, it was worse that she didn’t make me leave with her,” He scoffed scratching the back of his head. There had been plenty of moments of desperation, moments where he had wished he had gone with her just for the relief from being stranded. 

“Looking back I know Lucy never would have made me leave. She never was selfish was she?”

“No,” Val agreed quietly, “Not Lucy.”

“And she told me that they would come. As long as I stayed strong and waited, our boys would come and she would make sure of it.”

Val’s laugh was soft, “That definitely sounds like our Luce.”

“Some days though, it just felt impossible Val. Some days I just wanted to go out of the ship and see if I could find her.”

In hindsight he knew that that sort of trip out of the airlock would have been one way only. 

“You didn’t though? Go looking for her?”

He shook his head, “She wouldn’t have wanted me to, would she?”

“Not if she’d specifically told you to wait for them,” Val agreed softly, pausing for a moment before smiling softly, “Do you remember what she was like when we got a different toy for Scott’s birthday just because the one he wanted didn’t come out for another week?”

“Yeah,” He grinned, “I remember, she gave us hell.”

They fell into a comfortable silence after that, each lost with their own thoughts of the woman they had loved. Jeff couldn’t help but look back at what he had heard her say, the promise she had made that the boys would come for him if he would just give them time. 

How he would have to give up the reins to Scott when he came home, the eldest a born leader and too stubborn in his ways to possibly revert back to what they had once known. 

How she had promised that he would get to hear Virgil’s music again, the riffs he played on the piano of an evening whilst Jeff sat and finished his paperwork. He wouldn’t have to make do with half remembered melodies made up in his head.

How he would perhaps miss so much of Alan’s teenage years, but she told him that at least he would see him as a matured young man that still idolised his father. Jeff had cried at the thought of missing so much of their youngest’s achievements.

How he had promised her that he would never get angry at Gordon’s jokes or pranks ever again, just so long as he got to be the one on the receiving end of it. 

How she had made him promise to give John a listening ear and make sure he was looking after himself. He remembered her fear that he would have removed himself and shrunk away from his brothers in light of what had happened. It had been a fear that Jeff had shared. 

“She’d be damn proud of you all,” Val murmured, breaking into his thoughts, “Don’t get me wrong, she was proud of whatever you all did. But this? Surviving eight years and all that? That’s something else Jeff.”

He nodded, lifting his arm to rest across her shoulders to draw her into him, “I wish she were here.”

Val leant into his chest willingly, resting her head under his chin as she sighed, “I do too Jeff, it would have made this thing a whole lot more bearable.”

She pulled away slightly to look up to him, “But we’ve got you back now. That’s the most important thing here.” 

Hugging her tightly, he nodded. As much as it hurt remembering there was one person he would never see again, Val was right, he had lived against all the odds. He was home, he had his family, and he had lived. 

What more could he want?

***

It felt like he was in a daze, sat amongst it all in the lounge of the villa. The boys all off doing their own thing after dinner. It seemed so normal, yet so foreign at the same time. Like he had never left almost.

“Now what’s on your mind?” His mother asked as she sat down next to him. 

Shaking his head he looked around, “I’ve missed this.”

She chuckled as she patted his knee, “It’s been a long time since we had everyone together.”

“I forgot,” He murmured, glancing around at each of the boys, “how like Lucy they all are.”

Virgil was sat at the piano, playing a soft relaxed melody that was a background sound to so many family evenings. John and Alan were sat out on the deck, pointing up at the stars like Jeff remembered doing with them both once upon a time. 

“How like both of you they all are,” his mother smiled, “And Scott finally relaxing,” 

She nodded over to where the eldest was sat back on another sofa reading something on a tablet,

“I think that’s the first time I’ve seen him read something that isn’t business or IR in the last eight years.”

Jeff’s heart twisted in his chest, he had always remembered the number of nights the eldest spent tucked up reading with his mother. 

“Hey Dad?” Alan murmured as he stepped down into the lounge next to him. 

He smiled, lifting his arm across the youngsters shoulders as he sat down next to him, “What’s up kiddo?”

The book Alan held out was a familiar one to Jeff, one that he had seen the night he had left the island. It had once belonged to Lucy and had been handed down to each of the boys as they had grown. Inside was a forgettable story, but one he had always done the voices to when it had been his turn to read to the boys, and doodles of Lucy’s from long nights spent trying to coax kids to sleep. 

“I know it’s silly,” Alan started, his baby blues wide like he always remembered Lucy’s being, “but you read this to me before you left… I-- would you…”

Wordlessly, Jeff took the book, happily opening it to the first page. Across from him he noticed Scott put his tablet down and sit up a little straighter as he began to read outloud. 


	7. Chapter 7

He hadn’t pushed for her to come to him, and he hadn’t brought it up with any of the boys. His mother had assured him that the relationship between Tanusha and the Hood was out in the open now. Yet it felt like broaching the subject with her was somehow still  _ wrong _ . 

He wasn’t sure if it was a shock or not that his own disappearance had lead to Kyrano becoming crazed by his brother’s actions, leading him down a spiralling path that nobody was sure he could ever get fully out of. 

Val told him that the younger woman still hadn’t forgiven her Uncle for her father’s ill health, something Jeff had had to question further about. Answers had been clipped, the look in Val’s eyes telling him that they weren’t questions for her to answer. 

They had always been close. Since the day the Hood had threatened her in front of him there had been a fierce need to protect the daughter he had never had. Kyrano was still very much her father, but Tanusha and Jeff’s relationship had been just as close and he had cherished it. The days where she had come to him, just because, and the nights where she had shared her hopes, dreams, and fears. He knew it was a privelige that she let him as close as she did, and his heart lurched at the thought that maybe things might have changed. That maybe, in leaving, he had let her down.

He wasn’t sure if Tanusha purposefully waited until he was feeling mentally better, or if it were a coincidence. He wondered if it were Virgil that had told her, after all it was the middle son whom he had confided in earlier in the week that his head was finally feeling clearer. Emotions that had felt fragile after reentry were settling, the tight feeling in his chest that had nothing to do with the air pressure had finally eased enough to allow him to dare to breathe. For the first time in years he was starting to feel human again. 

Then the young, vulnerable girl he had unintentionally left behind had turned up. Green eyes scanning him as if he could break on her at any moment, wide and fearful. 

“Tanusha?” He murmured, pulling the reading glasses off and setting them on the table. 

She swallowed as she stepped into the room, taking a slow breath as she folded her arms and looked to the floor. 

“I’m sorry.”

He frowned, not following the statement for the briefest of moments. 

Then realisation hit.

“Kayo,” He tutted softly, pushing himself to his feet and wincing at the stiffness in his knees. Eyes tracked him as he crossed the room to her, limping as his left knee refused to wake up from having been sat for quite so long. 

If she thought his hands resting on her shoulders was simply a way for him to hold himself up, she would have been wrong. 

“What happened wasn’t your fault.”

The way her lip trembled as she looked up to him told him everything he needed to know. Maybe the truth was out in the open, maybe his mother had told her a million times that she couldn’t blame herself, maybe he had come home safe. 

None of that mattered to the young woman stuck in the middle of it all. 

“You do not control your Uncle’s actions,” He murmured to her, “You couldn’t have known what he would do.”

Her eyes dropped as she shook her head, her arms wrapping around herself as she sniffed, “Pappa blamed himself. He went after him, and when he came back…” she trailed off, eyes screwing shut with the memory as she reaching up to scrub at her face with her fists. 

“Oh darling.” He sighed, arms pulling her into his chest and holding on tight. 

It was too little far too late. He should have told the boys from the outset despite her protests. Of course it would have created additional friction for her once he was gone. With the Hood to blame for it all he could only imagine what had gone through the young woman’s mind. 

“Uncle broke Pappa,” she whispered, resting her head on his shoulder, “and I couldn’t stop either of them.”

Jeff had been there before, stuck between the two brothers trying to stop one from tearing a lump out of the other. Despite being a calm man, Kyrano was as subborn as Jeff himself. He could guess how the man would have blamed himself for his brothers actions just as his daughter obviously had done. He would have become fixated, determined to stop the Hood from doing any more harm. 

Apparently at cost to himself. 

He wasn’t sure there were any words of comfort he could utter to help. What did you say to the woman that had lost everyone dear to her? 

“I hate him.” She murmured, “I hate my Uncle and I hope he  _ rots _ .”

It wasn’t the kind of statement he would expect from her. Eight years was a long time to harbour feelings towards a man that had taken both her father and someone she saw as a father from her. 

Although he wouldn’t say it quite so explicitly, Jeff could appreciate the feeling. The Hood had once been a friend, but after all that he had done to both families, Jeff knew that the freindship had truly been forgotten. 

“Can I see him?” He asked her, frowning as he looked down, “Will your father take visitors?”

Pulling back, she smiled slightly, “I think he would like that.”

Jeff nodded, tucking her hair back behind her ear with a small smile of his own. The Hoods words from weeks earlier echoing in his ears. 

***

His mother had tried to insist they go inside, but Jeff was far more interested in ensuring the Hood made it safely to custody. It was only that Virgil had taken his side, reminded his grandmother that Jeff knew more of the Hood’s tricks than anyone, that had seen her give in. 

He didn’t mention that he was also hoping to catch Val before she left. Only to be disappointed when Scott informed him that Colonel Casey had already left the Island with the pair of siblings known as the Chaos Crew, leaving a young Captian and his team to recieve their special guest. 

As they had stepped back out onto the runway, Virgil under his arm, he had instantly spotted the man in question. Tall but stocky in build, and clearly laughing at whatever the woman stood with him was saying. 

“Is that--” He started, not sure if it was still the change in light that was messing with his eyes, or if Kayo really had grown up that much. 

Virgil hummed in question as he glanced across to him and then back to the GDF flier, “Oh, your eyes, uh, I should have got you some sunglasses or something.”

Shaking his head Jeff waved him off, “I can manage without for now, this is more important.”

Tutting, he felt rather than saw the disapproval in his son’s face as he focused on the daughter he had never had. Yes, it was definitely her, just grown from a girl into a young woman. The childish roundness of her cheeks gone, but the trademark ponytail remaining. 

As they neared he didn’t miss the way her face dropped at the sight of her Uncle. She had seemed to be quite happy talking to Rigby until the rest of them had arrived. Her glare was cold and aimed solely at the man Scott and Gordon were escorting towards the GDF carrier. 

“Captian Rigby,” Scott nodded, “I trust you’ll take good care of our uninvited guest here.”

Rigby grimaced as he took a grip on the Hood’s arm, “Don’t you worry, we have a nice cell in Solitary Confinement all ready and waiting for him.”

Jeff straightened, knowing that there was little that could easily hold him, “You had best check him for gadgets as well…”

He trailed off as the Captian’s eyes landed on him, the young man’s back straightening. 

“Colonel Tracy, Sir, an honour to finally meet you.” A glance towards his detainee and he added, “I only wish it were different circumstances.”

Watching the Hood, Jeff nodded, “There’ll be time for all that, Captain. Just be sure he doesn’t give you any trouble.”

He didn’t miss how the Hood rolled his eyes, “Yes, yes, I’m still  _ here _ you know?”

“I’d enjoy the company whilst you can,” Rigby commented, “It’s the last you’re going to get for a  _ very _ long time.”

The Hood snorted, turning his gaze back on Jeff with that knowing smile the father had come to hate, “In that case, Jeff, do give my regards to my brother. That is if he is taking visitors now, I seem to recall him being somewhat deranged the last time I visited.”

“That’s enough.” Virgil growled, his whole body tensing alongside his father’s. 

“Get him out of here.” Kayo uttered. 

He knew there was an obvious question to be asked. When he had left Kyrano had been home, very much part of the family life. Yet, it was only the reminder from the man’s brother that had led Jeff to realise the absence of one of his closest friends. 

From the look on everyone’s face though, he could guess it wasn’t the time for such a question. Kyrano was no longer at home on the Island, and Jeff dreaded to think what that could mean for the other man’s health. 


	8. Chapter 8

When Scott had walked in, Jeff had known something was wrong. He had never seen the eldest look so drawn, his eyes red from crying but also dark and heavy. It was rare for Scott’s shoulders not to be straight, his military stint as deeply ingrained in him as it was in Jeff. 

“Scott?” He prompted as the eldest slid the door to the room shut, “Son, what is it?”

Dazed eyes finally met his, still glistening with unshed tears as the eldest shook his head. 

“I’m sorry.”

Jeff could have cursed, of course it had to be the one bad day that week that something happened. Despite all his will power, his legs refused to cooperate and move him across the room to his son. 

“Scott, tell me, what is it?”

Dread was starting to settle in, something had to have happened. Something serious. Scott had always been sensible, a Rescue Scout from such a young age, emergencies had never phased him. He knew how to react, how to treat and manage injuries and situations. There was only one scenario that Jeff could imagine leading to him being so distraught. 

“Alan.” He choked out, hand reaching blindly to the frame at the foot of the bed as he guided himself down to sit on the mattress. 

Jeff’s heart lurched. 

“What’s happened to Alan?” He coaxed, needing a straight answer. 

Not the youngest, not his baby boy that he had already missed so many opportunities for. 

Scott shook his head, swiping at his eyes with a frown and a sniff, “He broke his arm, probably a couple of ribs too.”

A sigh escaped him, nothing immediately life threatening in that case. Injuries that were undoubtedly a pain, but could at least be treated on the Island. 

“I’m sorry Dad,” Scott continued, “I failed him. I screwed up and he could have-- If he hadn’t-- It’s  _ my _ fault.”

Once again Jeff found himself cursing at his inability to simply  _ move _ . 

“I couldn’t do it Dad.” Scott sniffed, “Not just today, but  _ all  _ of it. I wasn’t any good at it.”

He frowned, not following the train of thought, “At what, Scott?”

The eldest looked up, red rimmed eyes flooding out onto his cheeks, “At being  _ Commander _ .”

Scoffing at the statement wouldn’t have helped anything, so instead he simply shook his head at the eldest. Scott was a commander by nature, in both Air Force and IR the role had come naturally to the eldest. Jeff had seen enough of his work to know that whatever he had missed, the eldest would have done the job to the best of his ability. 

Except…

The late nights. The inability to sit still when his brothers were gone. The need to know exactly what was happening in the field. 

Was Scott perhaps too good at his role?

“Why weren’t you any good?” He asked. 

Scott shrugged as he looked down, “A commander wouldn’t let his brother fall. I should have made sure the floor was stable before I sent him ahead.”

Raising an eyebrow, Jeff tilted his head, “Could Alan not have done that himself?”

“I pushed him,” Scott shrugged again, eyes distant, “I told him to be quick, that we had to hurry up.”

It wasn’t like Scott to look so distant, not when he was reporting something. He stated facts, what he knew to have happened without needing the situation to replay in his mind. 

“A good commander pushes his team to do their best,” He offered softly, reaching out to the comm at his side, “There’s nothing wrong with that Scott.”

Hazed blue eyes met his as his son shook his head, “I wanted to save everyone, Dad. I pushed them so hard, but it wasn’t enough. I wanted to make you proud. But, it was too much and I didn’t see it.”

His words were so far from normal, Jeff didn’t need to question any more. It was obvious there was something else at play, something else messing with his train of thought, something else that had happened on the rescue. 

Whatever it was, Jeff doubted any words of assurance would settle Scott in that moment. 

“Didn’t see what?” He asked as the comm next to him buzzed with a confirmation message. 

Scott swallowed, eyes looking straight through him as tears welled again, “I was going to kill them.”

“Kill who?” The question came without thinking, he didn’t know if they were hidden thoughts his eldest had buried deep down or something else. Either way it was worth getting as much information as possible. 

“The others.” Scott whispered, “I pushed them all so hard.”

“They’re all okay though Scott,” He tried to reason as his son bent forward to rub his face in his hands.

A groan was all the response he got as Scott doubled over. Time seemed to slow down as he slid from the bed. Jeff immediately ignoring the protest of his knees as he lurched forward to catch him. His legs didn’t last long as his arms caught Scott’s shoulders, the added weight too much for him to support. Together they slipped to the floor, Scott’s head flopping against his shoulder as Jeff shifted to keep him at least partly upright.

“Scott?” He snapped his fingers in front of blank blue eyes, “Come on Son, talk to me.”

His hand reached up to brown hair as his eyes screwed shut, “M’ head hurts.”

“Dad?” Virgil announced as he stepped into the room, flanked by a nurse and a doctor, “What happened?”

“Virg?” Scott tried to look up, “Virg, ‘m sorry.”

“Scott?” The medic was instantly frowning as he crouched with them, “What for?”

Shaking his head at the younger son, Jeff pursed his lips, “He came in here in a state, he’s not himself.”

“Hello, Mr Tracy,” The male nurse was crouching in front of them, and it took Jeff a moment to realise he was talking to Scott, “Do you think you can walk?”

“Sorry for failing, Dad.” Scott muttered, eyes resting closed, “‘m sorry I didn’ keep ‘em safe.”

Rubbing his hand up and down his son’s back, Jeff sighed heavily, “You haven’t failed Scott. I’m proud of you. You don’t need to worry.”

“‘Kay.” Scott sighed, the word slurred as his body fell limp against Jeff.

A flurry of movement and the eldest was extracted from Jeff, lifted out into the hallway of the hospital and onto a stretcher. Virgil stayed, helping his father back to his feet and supporting him until his crutch was in his hand. 

“What was all that about?” He frowned.

Virgil sighed with a shake of his head, “Scott still has a dreadful habit of removing his helmet on rescues.”

The statement only really half answered the question. 

“He and Alan were in a lab where an experiment had gone wrong. Alan fell and broke his arm, but we thought Scott was okay. Just before I got your message Eos came through with readings of an unknown gaseous substance.”

Jeff could put the rest together himself. 

“He’ll be fine.” Virgil squeezed his shoulder, “Simulations suggest it’s slow onset and short acting according to John.”

It was an assurance he had definitely needed to hear, but other concerns were beginning to worry him more. 

“Why does he think he’s failed me?” 

Virgil’s face fell slightly as he nodded to the door, “Let’s go and find out where they’ve taken him, then I’ll explain.”

***

Day and night had become a foreign concept to him after eight years on a lump of rock in the middle of nowhere. Whilst his mother had told him to go to bed and  _ rest _ , after so long of having to be constantly on guard, simply stopping to switch off didn’t come so easy. 

What he hadn’t expected was for anyone else to be up at the same time.

“Hasn’t your grandmother chased you to bed yet?” He murmured as he eased down onto the sofa, grateful to finally let go against the pull of gravity. 

Scott snorted as he flicked the hologram away with a nod, “She still tries, but I think she knows it’s futile. Especially when one of the others is out.”

Jeff frowned, “I didn’t hear a launch?”

The eldest threw the hologram across to the central console, “A yacht taking on water between here and the mainland, Gordon launched from here. He shouldn’t be long.”

He knew the feeling of not being able to rest when any one of them was gone. He’d spent eight years wondering if his boys were safe, and a good period before that monitoring every rescue they went on. 

“Besides, I had things to catch up on.” Scott added, “I can’t say I’ve been in the best head space for work these last few days.”

Thinking about it, it was hardly surprising that most of the admin work had fallen to Scott. When Jeff had left he had really been the only one of the five boys with a hand already in the paperwork. 

“The business will wait,” He smiled, “I can’t imagine you’ve slept much these last few days either.”

Scott chuckled, “It’s a long time since I’ve had some form of sensible sleep pattern.”

It only served to confirm what Jeff suspected.

“I’m proud of you son,” He smiled, “To keep all this going, it can’t have been easy.”

Scott’s smile was genuine but it didn’t quite reach the exhaustion in his eyes. It was easy to see how comfortable he was in his father’s chair as he leant back into the seat, the frame creaking as he did. 

“Can’t lie Dad, it wasn’t to start with, but I guess we figured things out.”

He wished he had the strength to stand, to go over to him and hug him tightly. If only he could just express how proud he was in exact words. 

“And you’re okay?” He prompted, not convinced by the smile. 

Scott laughed, “Says the one who spent eight years in the Oort Cloud.”

Rolling his eyes with his own smile, Jeff shook his head, “I’m your father, and I’m still entitled to worry.”

He couldn’t tell if the smile was forced or if it was genuine as Scott nodded again. His eyes seemed brighter in that moment, wider and more innocent than he had seen them all day. 

“I’m alright Dad. You don’t need to worry.”

What Scott didn’t realise was, as a father, Jeff would always worry.


End file.
